Usually one card; sometimes another

Samuel McChord Crothers, a minister and essayist who died in 1927, said, “Try as hard as we may for perfection, the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness.”

Bridge offers an amazing variety, and all players make mistakes. We also have variety in the way we handle card combinations. Suppose you have A-J-9-7 opposite K-108-6-5 and wish to play the suit without loss. It might be right to cash the ace and king, or to finesse through either opponent. You must take each deal on its own merits.

In this deal, East has to produce a variation on a theme. What should happen in four spades after West leads the heart king?

North’s four-heart rebid was a splinter. He showed four-card spade support, at least game-going values (at most five losers) and a singleton or void in hearts.

Defenders should always keep in mind their target: the number of tricks needed to defeat the contract. Here, they require four. Then, once East studies the dummy, he should realize that his side has to take one heart and three clubs. Also, it must be better for East to lead clubs through declarer, rather than for West to lead them around to declarer.

So, first, East must overtake partner’s heart king with his ace. But which club should East lead?

Usually with honor-third, you lead low. But not when you need three quick tricks in the suit. Then you should lead the honor. Here, East has to shift to the club jack. He hopes that partner holds A-Q-10(-x).